Structural Transformation in the Education of Emergent Bilingual Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Educating Emergent Bilinguals in New York: A Focus on Structural Changes, Distributive Leadership, Translanguaging Pedagogy, and Socioemotional Supports

Abstract

Introduction
Nearly forty years since our courts deemed preparing EBLs a ‘civil right’ (Lau vs. Nicholas in 1974), many schools continue to struggle to provide a meaningful education for this population (Cummings, 2007). Research has indicated that schools can improve the achievement of EBLs by ensuring that program models are consistently implemented and properly supported (Brisk, 2006; De Jong, 2011).

This study focuses on four schools involved in a professional development project where administrators and teachers reflected on their school’s existing structures to support the learning of EBLs, received professional development in the areas of instructional strategies and school improvement planning, established goals, and made efforts to implement their goals to strengthen educational services.

Objective/Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the structural reform processes that four schools went through in order to reconceptualize education for their EBLs and to implement changes in programs and services for this population. These schools participated in the professional development project and choose to revise their program models for emergent bilinguals. The research question for this paper is:
How do structural changes happen in schools participating in a professional development to improve the services for EBLs? Specifically,
• What structures do these schools (aim to) reform?
• How do stakeholders approach the change process?
• What challenges do they encounter in the process?

Theoretical Framework
Structures empower and constrain social action (Sewell, 1992). Sewell points out that structures are often misunderstood as deterministic and static; his reframing of structure helps us recognize the fluidity of structures and the agency of actors engaged in them. Sewell’s theoretical framework can help us understand how schooling structures can constrain the practices of professionals, but also how the practices of schooling professionals can reform structures.

Methods/Techniques/Modes of Inquiry
This paper uses a qualitative design and comparative case study approach (Yin, 2003). First, each of the cases was studied individually to understand its complexities in structural reform. Then, we conducted a cross-case study analysis by thematically analyzing the structural changes in the four schools as viewed by administrators, teachers and professional development providers (Sandelowski & Barroso, 2003).

Data Sources
Data collection occurred between September - June 2013. Data analyzed include interviews with school administrators, school and classroom observations and school visit notes, artifacts, and reflections from the professional development providers.

Results
The four schools had unique ways in which they experienced the structural transformation process, although there were some similarities in the type of changes that they implemented. One school focused on revising their language allocation policy in their bilingual program. The other three schools focused on supporting selected teachers who were interested in adding more home language support in ESL classrooms. We theorize that changes in structure allow for changes in programs and practices.

Scholarly Significance
This paper asks how reform happens, adding contributions to school improvement literature. It also provides examples of specific changes schools targeted in order to be more consistent, rigorous, and aligned with needs of their EBLs.

Authors

• Maria Teresa Sanchez, The Graduate Center - CUNY

• Liza Pappas, The New York City Independent Budget Office